Johnny Gaddaar is what we call superb entertainment. It is a damn good
thriller – gripping, riveting, dark and suspensive, and it will
definitely have you glued to your seat throughout. Director Sriram
Raghavan, who earlier directed the excellent Ek Hasina Thi, directs
this movie with great integrity and understanding of the required mood,
capturing every moment of it with sheer skill. He clearly takes
inspiration from James Hadley Chase novels and several classic movies
from India and abroad to create a true westernised Indian pulp fiction,
and this makes it the more so enjoyable and fun. The movie presents a
realistic yet different cultural world that is just fun to watch, but
most importantly, it has style. And this style is created not only by
the terrific screenplay, but also by its clever use of its technical
aspects. The slick cinematography, the impressive camera work, the
great editing, and the awesome background score, all contribute to the
film's suspense and unpredictability. The acting is roundly good, from
Dharmendra, who delivers one of his finest works in recent years, to
Vinay Pathak who rocks as always to the hot Rimi Sen, the wonderful
Ashwini Khalsekar to Govind Namdeo and Zakir Hussan, everyone does
well. The movie, however, clearly belongs to Neil Nitin Mukesh, who
delivers a very convincing debut performance, effectively playing the
many shades of his character. He can be naive, sophisticated, devious
or just indifferent, but he is just the real Johnny. Johnny Gaddaar is
a movie everyone would enjoy watching – a thriller which is taut,
twisted, fast-paced, unpredictable, and just very entertaining.

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*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Shriram Raghvan is a promising director. Ek Hasina Thi was a great
debut and Johny Gaddaar is a step head, its a masterpiece. It is
superbly directed and has breathtaking pace. There isn't a single bore
moment. The lead character's journey of insanity couldn't be shown
better. Right from the beginning we are hinted what fate are the main
characters going to meet with.

I believe that in addition to being well directed the casting choices
played a key role in enabling this movie to reach its true potential.
Neil Nitin Mukesh might not be fully developed in terms of acting but
the director makes a fantastic choice by taking him for the lead role.
Neil's ultra good looks in a playboy'ish way give a unique touch in
showing the young man's desires overpowering his senses. A bit like how
Brad Pitt was smartly picked for Fight Club.

The remaining characters are all well essayed and music is quite
memorable and completely tuned with the spirit of Johny Gadaar.

This movie is a classic proof that to make great films one doesn't
always need big budget.